“He wants to focus on baseball, on what’s going on on the field, and with that in mind, we will respect his wishes and hopefully pick up negotiations at the end of the season,” Alderson said last month.

A source for The Post said that was merely a ruse to protect Reyes and the Mets from daily scrutiny. Alderson wouldn’t discuss the reported Reyes contract talks on Wednesday.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about me (being) comfortable,” Reyes said after his camp denied the Mets in June. “Nothing’s changed. I want to stay here. Like I always say, I want to be a New York Met all my career. But right now I just want to play baseball.”

“The Mets did the right thing reaching out to Reyes,” WFAN’s Rich Coutinho wrote last month. “It cemented the notion that they want him back. Now the question becomes for how long and how much?”

What do you think of the “secret talks” report? Sound off in the comments below…